Frequently Asked Questions
 
Where do bats live?  
Bats live all over the world in all habitats including within the Arctic Circle. Some live in trees and some live in caves. In Europe most bats live with us using crevices around our homes.
Why do bats hang upside down?
Bats hang upside down because their ‘hands’ have become wings. Bats don’t have to hang. Some are quite happy to creep into a horizontal gap and sleep either on their front or lying on their back.
Why don’t they fall when asleep?  
Bats toes have ratchets at the joints. When a bat lands it’s toes curl and lock into place automatically. By doing this a bat can hang upside down for hours while asleep.
How long do bats live?  
The record for a bat is 32 years. This is very unusual. Most bats don’t live long enough to have their first birthday.
Why do they come to my house?  
As we destroy good habitat by building houses and roads trees are uprooted and burnt. These trees especially the old ones with nooks and crannies are where a bat family would rather be. A house with a small hole allowing access into the cavity is the next best thing for a bat.
Where do they go in winter?  
Bats go to caves, tunnels, icehouses and mines to spend the winter hibernating. We still don’t know where the majority of bats go to for the winter months.
What do bats eat?  
Bats eat insects, frogs, fish, fruit, nectar and pollen. There is type of bat called a Vampire that feeds mainly on the blood of farm animals. These bats are only found in central and South America
Where do bats live?  
Hollow trees, cracks on branches, caves, mines, rock crevices, scree, cavity walls, hanging among leaves
How do bats fly?  
Bats fly using a very thin membrane stretched between their elongated finger bones and tail. Unlike birds that fly using their breast muscles bats fly using their back muscles. The muscle is the same one that gives a body builder the V shape
Are all bats the same?
No, there are almost 1000 different bats in the world. Ranging in size from a bumblebee to a small cat.
Are all bats brown?  
Mostly they are brown or blackish but there is one that has white fur with yellow ears, nose and wings
Why can’t I hear a bat?  
This sound is beyond what we can hear but within the hearing of cats and dogs. This sound is called ultrasonic.
How many bats can live together?  
Some bats are happy to live by themselves or in a small family group of 1 male and a few females. The biggest group of bats in the world is 20 million in Bracken Cave, Texas
How do bats see in the dark?  
Bats give out a special sound called echolocation, which is like radar but far better. It gives them night ‘vision’ as good as we see during the day
How can they find food?  
By using echolocation bats can ‘see’ insects flying in front of them. Fruit bats find their food by smell as do pollen and nectar feeders.
What use are bats?  
Bats eat many harmful insects like mosquitoes. One small pipistrelle can eat over 3000 insects in one night. Pollen and nectar bats pollinate fruit that you and I eat. Bananas, mangoes and cashews are bat pollinated